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Friday, Weekday of Christmas Time – Mark 1:7-11

The Gospel of today is a choice of two texts taken either from Mark or from Luke. The Lucan text of today focuses on the ancestry of Jesus going back to Adam and God. The Marcan text taken from the proclamation of John the Baptist includes a section of Jesus’ Baptism, a feast we will celebrate three days from now.

Mark is the only book in the Bible that announces itself as a “Gospel” (Mark 1:1), the ‘good news’ about Jesus. Mark’s Gospel does not focus on the birth or youth of Jesus. Mark begins his ‘good news’ of Jesus’ baptism as the beginning of his ministry.

Baptisms in our country are predominantly a family celebration unlike a wedding which has a more social celebratory focus. Today’s baptism has the Blessed Trinity in attendance; THE Father, THE Son and THE Holy Spirit; this is a family celebration and we are drawn into the embrace of the three persons of the Trinity to be joined in this family celebration.

The text of today is loaded and we need to listen carefully to its message. We are told that Jesus was coming out of the water when he SAW the heavens TORN APART and the Spirit descending LIKE A dove on him. And a VOICE came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.

The dramatic revelation comes “from above”. First, the heavens are torn apart. The heavens are rent open to indicate that Jesus belongs to the divine realm. The word “torn open” (schizo) used of the heavens occurs again at the crucifixion in Mark 15:38 when the temple curtain is “torn apart” at the moment when Jesus breathes his last, implying a connection between the baptism and crucifixion.

Next the Spirit descends on him like a dove as he emerges from the water. This Spirit will remain with him throughout his public ministry and passion. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist tells of seeing “the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove” (John 1:33). In Mark’s Gospel Jesus alone hears the voice of God at the baptism bestowing upon him the identity: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).

We identify this voice as that of his Abba, his dear Father. The Father reveals the identity of this seemingly ordinary man Jesus from Nazareth by declaring him to be his beloved Son. For other people and especially for us, to recognize Jesus’ true identity we must listen to Jesus’ words and observe his deeds. The announcement “you are my son,” is one of three moments in the Gospel where Jesus is proclaimed “son”; here, at the transfiguration (Mark 9:7), and at the crucifixion (Mark 15:39).

“Why was Jesus baptized?” After all, he is the sinless, divine Son of God, and the baptism that John the Baptist administered was “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). Why mingle with those Jews who have come to confess their sins, be baptized and receive forgiveness? Why identify with sinners? Does Jesus need John’s baptism?

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Faith

On the last day of Christmas my true love had two words for me …“follow me” – John 1: 43- 51

The Christmas season will end four days from now on the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord which this year falls on a Monday. This last advent was the longest advent season, consisting of four full weeks but the Christmastide is the shortest consisting of only 16 days.

The Love of God is what has flown through these twelve days of Christmas and it is this love that we celebrate at Christmastime; he is the TRUE love that gives not only during these twelve days but will continue to love throughout the year.

Today we reflect on his love as seen in the Gospel of the day, John 1: 43-45. So far the Gospel of John has told us that John the Baptist redirected his disciples towards Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God.” We know that one of the two disciples was Andrew who is named in verse 40. He and another disciple had spent the day with Jesus. They were clearly smitten with this “rabbi” (verse 38). But now that the day was almost done (verse 39 tells us that it was about four pm) conviction had set in. Jesus is no longer just a rabbi or a teacher for these two disciples. We are told that Andrew goes in search of his brother Simon Peter and having found him declares a kerygma or a faith proclamation, “we have found the Messiah.” In one swift move, Jesus looks at Simon and turns his life upside down. He is no longer Simon but Peter the rock!

But a good thing cannot be hidden under a rock and this ‘rock’ decided to rock and roll. Peter, Andrew and the unnamed disciple become the first batch of ‘seminarians.’ This was a seminary like no other. There was no structural institution, no liturgical garments of identification and no admission interview. It had just one thing, The MESSIAH, who was the first formator of these disciples. Their first lecture was to be on a journey on foot and this was no walk in the park for Jesus had a mission and great was his enthusiasm.

The text of today tells us that Jesus now moves from Bethany on the far side of the Jordan to Galilee in the North. A band of four now grows as Jesus ‘finds’ Philip. No long discourse or sales pitch is required to win Philip over. Jesus had two words for him, “Follow me,” and the band of three disciples has reached four. Vocation promotion has never done better! It is now Philips turn to do what Andrew did for his brother, to go out and bring more souls to Christ. Philip knows Nathaniel and his two-word encounter with Jesus was enough for him to declare emphatically, “we have found him whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

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Faith

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me a call to come and see – John 1: 35-42

The author of a play takes great care with the first words spoken by the main protagonist. These words must grab our attention and they usually reveal something of that person’s character. Here we read the first words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of John. It begins with Jesus addressing John’s disciples who are following him. Jesus always asks pointed, direct questions in the Gospel of John. The question is not a teaching, a precept, or a challenge (as we might expect), but a simple question address directly to them: “What are you looking for?” or “What do you want?” That’s a good question, isn’t it? The two disciples are asked a deceptively simple question.

Jesus asks about our desires so that he can respond to them. At one level, the question asks why are they walking after him or following him. But fundamentally, this is the existential question asked of any potential disciple: What do you seek when you come to follow Jesus? Are you looking for a comfortable life? Are you looking for the glory that comes from being one of God’s servants? Are you looking for praise and recognition? Or are you ready to do whatever it takes to serve in God’s kingdom – even if it means suffering the way Jesus did? Are you ready to take up a cross in order to follow Jesus?

Such a searching question, ‘what are you looking for?’ may also have many responses, ‘I’m not looking for anything! I am just trying to survive.’ But in sober moments we realise that we would like our lives to amount to more than just getting and spending, eating and sleeping.

Today, the call of Jesus is written all over this and every Gospel. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus calls the disciples away from their fishing boats to follow him (Matthew 4:18-22). In the Gospel of John, the disciples come to Jesus as the result of John the Baptist’s witness rather than in response to Jesus’ call. Instead of leaving their boats, the disciples leave their apprenticeship under John the Baptist. Our lives of witness are therefore imperative to evangelization.

Note the pattern of witnessing that occurs in these verses. John the Baptist witnesses to two of his disciples concerning Jesus. One of these disciples, Andrew, witnesses to his brother, Simon Peter, who becomes a key figure in the Gospel story. The ripples move ever outward, and only God can predict how far they will reach.

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Faith

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a lesson in humility – Luke 2:21-24

 

John the Baptist has clearly defined his ministry as simply ‘a voice that cries in the wilderness.’ He is emphatic, he is not the Messiah, nor Elijah or a prophet. As a voice he has a message to proclaim not a mandate to execute.

 

In today’s Gospel, John bears testimony to Jesus. On seeing him approach the river where he was bearing witness, he declares him to be THE LAMB of God with the power to take away the sin of the WORLD. In order to understand the power of these two words in today’s text I suggest you read a reflection that I wrote some time ago. You can do so by clicking this link https://www.pottypadre.com/sharing-the-stage-of-salvation-history/

 

But for today, I want to focus on a very practical reflection that we can take away. Each of us has a mission in life. This mission comes with a title and a tenure. The title or tenure serves as a reminder of the mission we are called to serve or the time frame in which we can execute the desired goals.

 

The Prime Minister has a tenure and a title that defines clearly a mandate or mission and a time frame in which his election manifesto is to be fulfilled. The Holy Father has a title but not really a tenure as he is Pope (which translates as father) for life. There are endearing titles like mother that are not instituted in a ceremony but comes by virtue that birth is given and that mission is for life.

 

St John the Baptist has a title with no fixed tenure. His title was that of being ‘the voice’ but his tenure was unsure. He took on a role but had no clue when it would end. John 2:29 tells us that the day after he encountered the Levites and priests who wanted to know who he was, Jesus walks into the scene. In that one verse, the mission of John ends. The curtain falls on John’s ministry. There was no notice period nor any time to pack and move off the stage.

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Opinion

Compliments of the Season- It that an appropriate greeting this season?

Straight off the bat; the school of WhatsApp is back in action, the discussion on the star of David which plagued us just before Christmas is now well behind us; like all news it did its ten days of fame on WhatsApp. Post-Christmas, the forwards are about greeting each other with the words ‘compliments of the season’; is that appropriate or not? I was asked by several people to weigh in on the debate.

The matter at hand are the words ‘compliments of the season.’ This according to the floating viral message is an attempt to secularize the faith and underscore the mystery of the incarnation. In other words, this is secular propaganda created to misled Christians into believing that we need to be more inclusive and less in-your face with our faith celebrations.

I am no scholar and the internet is no authority but common sense is an application that ought to be applied in this and any case. I am 52 years old and all through my growing years my mum taught me that a day after Christmas right up to New Year we wished each other, ‘compliments of the season.’ Would it be wrong to say “happy Christmas?” I think not. We don’t go around saying, ‘compliments of the New Year’ after the first of January; we continue to say ‘happy new year,’ well into the new year.

So, what is the point I want to drive home? Simply this, that as Christians, we have to stop playing the victim card whenever we suspect that the secular world is out with its knives to stab our Christian character. It makes perfect sense to wish any one a Happy Christmas days after the day itself has well passed; it is after all Christmastide and you have a right to wish someone a Happy Christmas and they have a right to reciprocate your greetings or not. Yet wishing someone ‘compliments of the season’ does not deny the truth of what we celebrate as Christians.

What would I prefer? I would prefer that we wished each other a Happy Christmas well after the day itself but without the victim card being thrown in. It makes sense to assert what we celebrated; the happiness that Christmas brings in our life. I am proud of my faith and if you ask me, I would rather say the words, ‘Happy Christmas,’ without weighing in heavily on the victim card that the secular world is out to get me. While words are important our actions that flow from these words are equally important. THE WORD became flesh to dwell among us as a prince of peace and not one that draws daggers of division.

The next time you get a forward on WhatsApp apply the principle of common sense. Think things through and perhaps add your own thoughts. You may agree or you may not but think and apply your mind to it.

Happy Christmas

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